The Emergence of Kaposi's Sarcoma–Associated Herpesvirus (Human Herpesvirus 8)

The concept of emerging “new” pathogens is somewhat misnamed, since these pathogens are usually old infections that have newly adapted to social and technological changes. Such is the case for Kaposi's sarcoma–associated herpesvirus, also referred to as human herpesvirus 8 (HHV-8), which was first described in 1994 and is the subject of two articles, one by Luppi et al.1 and one by Pauk et al.,2 in this issue of the Journal. HHV-8 is closely related to the Epstein–Barr virus (human herpesvirus 4) and infects CD19+ B cells as well as the endothelial-derived spindle cells of Kaposi's sarcoma lesions.3 In addition . . .